DOT: Trucks moved 67 percent of NAFTA freight in October

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports that in October trucks moved more than 67 percent of all the international freight – with trains, planes, ships and pipelines picking up the rest.

The value of freight hauled across the borders increased by nearly 4 percent when compared with September when freight went up less than 1 percent from the previous month. All modes carried less freight when compared with October 2014.

Trucks were responsible for nearly $65 billion of the $96.6 billion of imports and exports in October. Rail came in second with a contribution of nearly $14 billion.

Vessel and pipeline freight when compared with last year contributed to the yearly decline in U.S.-NAFTA trade flow, according to BTS. Freight totaled $96.6 billion, up more than $3 billion from the previous month and down nearly $12 billion from October 2014.

Pipeline freight experienced the steepest decline at nearly 52 percent, a steeper drop than September’s 42 percent decrease. Trucks experienced the lowest decline with a drop of only 2 percent. Across all modes, there was a 10.7 percent decrease when compared with the previous year.

More than 61 percent of U.S.-Canada freight was moved by trucks, followed by rail at 15.4 percent. U.S.-Mexico freight went down by 1.5 percent compared with October 2014. Of the $48.9 billion of freight moving in and out of Mexico, trucks carried nearly 73 percent of the loads.